5 Whys Worksheet — The Bent

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O
1			Starting Statement	→	Why?	→	Why?	→	Why?	→	Why?	→	Why?	=	Real Statement
2		Instructions	Make a copy of this Gdoc. Then, write your sentence in this column. This can be a fact, a feeling, a gut instinct — anything you want to unpack. It should be a very simple sentence: Noun + verb + description.		Now, ask yourself why. Write your answer here.		Ask why again — this why is about your previous answer, not about the statement itself. You'll be following a chain of thought to its natural end.		Ask again. Keep going until you hit the end of the usefulness of your answers.		When should you stop? It's like hitting the bottom of a swimming pool — you'll definitely feel it when you get there.		You might need more whys, you might need fewer whys.		Then, connect your initial statement with the final reason. This should feel very clear and specific. There's a good chance you'll be able to find a solution — or at least next steps — from this reason.

3	1	example (Toyota)	Sales are low.	→	Customers don't like the car.	→	They're uncomfortable. → "Our head hits the roof."	→	The roof is too low, or the seat is too high, or the seat isn't adjustable enough.	→		→		=	Customers don't like our cars becuase they're too tall to fit — the seat needs to be lower or the roof higher (or we need to find some shorter customers...)
4	2	example (IT department)	No one is using the new expense reporting software.	→	We don't like it.	→	It's a pain to use.	→	It asks for scanned receipts and exactly what was bought, but the receipts aren't always itemized — so we don't have the information we need.	→		→		=	We're not using the software because we don't have access to the information it requires — Do we need the info? Can we get the info in an easy way?
5							Pro Tip: if there are more reasons, splinter your row and keep going with those too!	→	It keeps crashing every time we open it.	→		→		=	We're not using the software becuase it keeps crashing — Can you solve this bug?
6								→	It doesn't work on iPhones.	→		→		=	We're not using the software becuase it doesn't work on iPhones — it'd be so much easier to use if it did.
7	3	example (Interns #1)	My interns do not know why they are using our 3D modeling program.	→	They have never been taught.	→	They didn’t need to understand why to pass their classes.	→	They could create good-enough models without understanding why.	→	Because they could mimic high-quality models.	→		=	The interns do not know why they are using the 3D modeling program because they’ve always been able to mimic high-quality models in school.
8	4	example (interns #2)	I need my interns to know why they are using our 3D modeling program.	→	Because they should.	→	That’s what they need to do the job well.	→	They'll understand that a 3D model isn't about making something look good. It's about testing a design to prove that it is feasible.	→	Because if we design something that’s not feasible, the project will fail before construction (potentially risking the client relationship and success of the contract), or the project will fail after construction (potentially risking human life).	→		=	I need my interns to understand that we use the 3D modeling program to test if a design is feasible in order to ensure the success of the contract, and so we don’t put human lives at risk.
9	5	You try!	This piece of work is good.	→		→		→		→		→		=
10	6		This piece of work is a disaster.	→		→		→		→		→		=
11	7		I want to cancel this 1-on-1.	→		→		→		→		→		=
12	8		They should get a promotion.	→		→		→		→		→		=
13	9		They need to go on a performance improvement plan.	→		→		→		→		→		=
14	10		That meeting was pointless.	→		→		→		→		→		=
15	11		I'm so tired.	→		→		→		→		→		=
16	12		I'm overwhelmed!	→		→		→		→		→		=
17	13			→		→		→		→		→		=
18	14			→		→		→		→		→		=
19	15			→		→		→		→		→		=
20	16			→		→		→		→		→		=